US President Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs on Mexico and Canada became effective on Tuesday. The 25 per cent tariff on imports from these two nations were implemented from March 4, while duties on Chinese goods were increased by double to 20 per cent under the new American administration.
After threatening fresh tariffs on America’s top three trading partners, President Trump delivered on his promises and triggered what experts fear is a global trade war. The tariffs could result in upending almost $2.2 trillion in two-way annual US trade, reported Reuters.
The tariffs went live hours after Trump declared that all three countries failed to restrict the flow of the fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the US.
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US Tariffs On China Doubled
Earlier last month, the US imposed a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods as a punishment for the Asian economy over the fentanyl overdose crisis in the US. The recent additional 10 per cent takes the overall duties on Chinese imports to 20 per cent, on top of the up to 25 per cent tariffs put in place by Trump during his first term on about $370 billion worth of imports.
The 20 per cent duty will now be applicable on major US consumer electronics imports from China, such as smartphones, laptops, smart watches, speakers, videogame consoles, and Bluetooth devices. These remained untouched so far from any tariffs.
Data from the US on Monday showed that factory gate prices climbed to almost a three-year high even before the President confirmed the tariffs. Experts believe that production might be impacted in the aftermath of the recent announcement.
Trump’s America First Agenda
The American President has continued to move on a path of tariffs since taking office in January such as imposing 25 per cent duty on steel and aluminium imports, set to take effect March 12. On Saturday, Trump also opened a national security investigation into the imports of lumber and wood products. Notably, Canada already faces a 14.5 per cent tariff from the US on softwood lumber and if the US President decides to impose more duties on the goods, it could impact the neighbouring nation significantly.
Trump has been on a ‘America First’ agenda and plans to impose higher ‘reciprocal tariffs’ to match the duties imposed by other countries and also diminish their trade barries. This move could spell a lot of trouble for the European Union, experts pointed out.